When Wrong Meets Right
by Stratusfied247
Summary: (SteveOC, SodaOC) Two Soc girls have their lives turned upside down when introduced to the boys who are supposed to be the wrong side of the track. If you don't like OCs, then don't read the story. More details inside.
1. Chapter 1

**_This story is based on the movie, with a few changes. Johnny still dies in the fire, but Dally didn't die at the end. Explanation of what happened to Dally will come later in the story as it unfolds. Being as it is based on the movie and not the book, I refer to the North and South sides instead of East and West._**

**_Summary: Picking up in the middle of life, two Soc girls have their lives turned upside down by boys from the wrong side of town. AdelleLandry has to choose... the life that forces her to fake a smile or Steve Randle. Emma Stratton, Adelle's best friend, has followed her into this world with the hope that finally something will make her feel alive, as opposed to being the Soc automaton that she's been since puberty._**

While the two young women were both anxious as they crossed from the greener pastures into the land of the downtrodden, their ways of expressing that anxiety were completely different.

Adelle Landry practically bounced in her seat. Her manicured nails bit into her palms as she held the steering wheel of her brand new Thunderbird tightly. She could have used the music that floated from the radio as an excuse for her energy, but the soft ballad that crooned its way to her ears wasn't something that one typically bounced to.

On the other hand, Emma Stratton was perfectly still. She clutched her tiny box purse tightly in her hands as she stared forward. Her hair was back in a perfect roll, held tightly with pins. She looked neither frightened of what was ahead, nor excited. She seemed to be indifferent, but inside, she was running. Her feet were taking her as fast as they could back to the security of her home, afraid that she would enjoy herself too much where she was going and find herself in an even worse predicament that she was already in. And yet, another part of her was running forward, too.

Both girls also had very different reasons to be so anxious.

Adelle couldn't stand to spend one more minute in that house. She had said it more than once since picking up her friend. In fact, it was the only thing that she would say. Her parents were steadily forbading her from going to hang out with those "greasy hoods" and she was steadily telling them that she didn't care. It was only a matter of time before they put her out, and she was almost positive that she would be glad to go. She just had to get away from them, and she had to get to the reason that she was thrown out of the Soc class. The man that stroked her black hair and told her in the worst English imaginable that she was absolutely beautiful.

Emma wanted to feel alive. She wanted to play in the fantasy world that she knew could never be hers. She wanted to pretend, at least for a little while, that there was no difference between her and the guys they were about to see. She was tired of feeling empty, sitting in an empty house, with parents that gave her empty stares and friends that handed her heaping servings of empty promises on their own silver spoons. She was leaving her own world far behind as she delved into this one that her best friend took to more easily than she would have ever imagined and that she, herself, both feared and loved.

"Okay, when we get there, we're not talking about my latest fight, alright?" Adelle bounced in her seat as her eyes scanned the street. She slowed the car down as they grew closer to the house. "We're not telling Darry anything, because he can be extremely parental at times. I think he forgets that he's just an older brother, not everybody's dad."

"Alright." Emma turned to look out the window. Everything looked the same, overgrown lawns and houses in disrepair. It wasn't that much unlike her own neighborhood. Just the yang to its yin. On the other side of town, all of the houses were in perfect shape and all of the lawns were perfectly mowed by Mexican labor.

"Emma?" Her head turned quickly to her friend, then back to the road. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Adelle."

"Are you sure? Because you're not usually this quiet when we're coming here. Most of the time, it's Soda this and Soda that. You do know that he likes you, right? Even though Two-Bit can be a bit of a jerk sometimes… I mean, that's how you know he likes you, because he's real quick to give Two-Bit one in the side when he starts messing with you."

Though there were definite endings to each sentence, it still sounded like Adelle had said it all in one breath. She was a bouncy sort of girl naturally, which had made her a perfect cheerleader until she was thrown off of the team for being too un-Soc, so her agitation wasn't always a clue as to her excitement. The real signifer to her exhuberance and anxiety was how fast she spoke. The quicker the words, the more anxious she was.

"Sodapop is a very nice boy. Greaser or not."

"We don't use that word, Emma." Her voice was very stern, and suddenly, she was sitting completely still. "We don't say Greaser or Soc or any of that, because none of it matters. He's not nice for a Greaser, he's just nice."

"I'm sorry." Emma turned to her and raised a curious eyebrow. Adelle always got upset when others said something about Greasers, but she rarely ever said anything to her. "What's wrong? Did something else happen at home?"

"They're throwing me out soon. I know it." She had said that they couldn't speak about it at the house, but they weren't there yet. One more block to go. "I know I always say I don't care, and I still have my money that Grammy left me, but I don't know where I can go. I can't just live with Steve. I may not be Soc anymore, but I still have propriety, and I can't just live with someone. And there's nowhere for me to live on the South Side. No one over there is going to take me in."

"My parents are never home. You could live with me."

"That's sweet, Emma, but they come home sometimes. They don't even know you still talk to me. If they did, you'd be thrown out, too. I just…" She slowed as the house came into view. "I don't know what to do. I really like Steve. I might even… you know." She sighed. "I don't want to give him up, but I don't want to be thrown out of my home, either."

The car came to stop in front of a house that looked in a little better shape than the ones on either side of it, but still definitely on the North side of town. The wind blew and as it pushed the gate open a little, its unoiled hinges creaked. Adelle sighed and looked at the gate. "We're here," she said, "so we can talk about this some more later."

"I really think you should tell Darry. He would know what to do."

"I'm not telling Darry, and neither are you. So… no more talking about it until we leave. We're going to put on smiles and have a good time. Everybody promised to be good, especially Two-Bit. And Ponyboy even said that he'd help us with that English paper coming up, so we can pretend like it's just a normal night and then we can be depressed when we get back in the car." She thought for a second, then said, "Maybe I should dip into Mom's Prozac. It helps her, right?"

Emma watched wordlessly as Adelle jumped out of the car, slamming the door shut. Her smile was bright and the wind blew her dark hair into her face. As she walked towards the gate, full bounce in her step, it was as though nothing had happened and she hadn't said a single word. Emma didn't know how she put herself into such an excited place so easily, but she wished she would share the secret.

With a sigh, Emma got out of the car and gently closed the door. Her South side upbringing instantly made her reopen the door and lock it, though she made it look like she had dropped something inside, so as not to offend the gathering of somewhat dirty young men that sat on the porch. She turned back in time to see one of them jump over the gate and throw Adelle over her shoulder. Emma looked past them until she saw Sodapop Curtis. He sat straddling the railing, his eyes on her.

Emma took a deep breath and walked forward. She forced the corners of her mouth up into a smile. If Adelle could be happy, then so could she. Or at least she could pretend. She was here to lose the emptiness, after all, and she couldn't do that with a frown or a worried look. She wasn't allowed to say anything about Adelle's situation at home, and she didn't want to talk about her own. So, she put on the smile and walked to the gate with her back straight and head held high. It was the only thing, at the moment, she could think to do that wouldn't send her running in the other direction.


	2. Chapter 2

Adelle pushed his hand away for the fifth time and spoke louder than she had planned. "Steve, you're dirty!"

Steve Randle most definitely wasn't the cleanest boy around, but it was very rare that his dirtiness made her do more than shake her head and ask Darry if he could use the Curtis shower. In fact, seeing Steve dirty was such a common thing that it had almost become something to look forward to, a game of sorts. Where will today's big splotch of grease be on Steve? Tonight, though she desperately needed the laugh, she just couldn't find the humor in it.

Looking at Steve made her both curse and praise the American engine that had given out on her less than a mile away from the DX gas station. Were it not for the crooked-toothed grin that he passed her way when she sauntered up to the station in a checkered skirt and saddle shoes, she would probably still be under the delusion that the Soc life was the best life. She would still be a cheerleader. She would still have her parents's respect. She would still have more friends in her part of town than just Emma.

But, she wouldn't have Steve. She wouldn't have the grease stains that he sometimes left on her shirts. She wouldn't have his insistence that bad girls turned into good girls when they did good things for bad guys. Her life would be plain and boring, and she'd have never learned that the word Greaser was dirtier than Steve's hands or face could ever be. She would never have learned to appreciate what she had, all the while remembering that it wasn't the end all, be all.

Adelle though, at times, that she could quite possibly finally be in love. A girl who was used to having boyfriends, she had never felt much more for them than a passing like, if not a sense of obligation due to her status in school hierarchy. None of them made her stomach go flip-flop. None of them made her open her mouth wide and laugh at just a wink or a misused word. None of them made her feel like Steve Randle did. So, it definitely had to be more than like, but without ever having been in love, she couldn't say for sure that love was what she felt for Steve.

"Aw, come on, Adelle, I'm always dirty. That never stopped ya from kissin' me before." His laugh was a mixture of a loud bark and a cackle.

"Well, you haven't been this dirty before. I mean… you're dirty before you even go to work in the morning."

"So."

"And don't you take a shower when you come home?"

"Sometimes. Depends on the mood I'm in."

"Well, I'm in a clean mood, so please, stop touching me."

Adelle felt bad, embarassing him in front of his friends. It wasn't until Two-Bit stuck in a snide remark that she even realized she'd spoken loud enough to be heard. "I see the Soc comin' back," Two-Bit said around a chunk of chocolate cake. Adelle turned to him and stuck out her tongue, twisting her face. "Oh, yeah, that's real pretty. That's definitely the prom queen picture right there."

"Bite…" She cut off her words, the insult on her tongue. All it would do was bring him back at her and while she was normally always geared up for a battle with Two-Bit, this just wasn't the night. She was afraid that her frustrations with home and her situation would come out on him and what little bit of a life she had left would be ruined. If she said something that could get through Two-Bit's exterior to offend him, it would most definitely offend everyone else.

"Can it, Two-Bit, alright? Nobody cares what you gotta say."

Adelle was shocked at the gruff tone in his words, but shocked even more by the reply. "Oh, the Soc is rubbin' off on ya. Soon, he's gonna be bathin' every day, washin' his hair and goin' back for his G.E.D. Won't big man Steve be on the top of the world."

"Stop it, Two-Bit, you just stop it!" Ponyboy Curtis stood up and growled. His hair, previously dyed platinum blonde, was back to black and it certainly suited his boyish features better. One would hardly believe he was fifteen years old. Adelle hadn't believed he wasn't some kind of super kid that had gotten into high school early when he showed up in their classes. "I'm tired of all this fightin'. No Soc, No Greaser in this house, alright? It's caused us enough trouble!"

Adelle sighed. She pulled away from Steve again as he tried to grab her arm and stood up. "I'm sorry. This is my fault. I should just go home." She looked at Emma, who looked somewhere between comfortable and ready to bolt next to Sodapop Curtis. "Well, if Emma wants to go…"

She looked at her almost begging her to want to go, but before she could adopt her friend's desires, Steve stood up and said, "Nobody's goin' anywhere, unless it's Two-Bit for bein' a jackass. Come on."

He grabbed Adelle's hand and pulled her outside before she could squeak, let alone tell him not to touch her with his dirty hands. The air outside was chilly, but not cold enough for a jacket. She shivered for only a moment before her bare arms got used to the air. Her skirt swished in the breeze and every time she tried to flatten it, the material just swished again.

Steve leaned against the creaking banister, and as always, Adelle got nervous. Inside, she always knew that Darryl Curtis wouldn't have anything dangerous on his house. It might look rundown, but everything worked and the roof didn't leak. The railing groaned under pressure, but she knew deep down that it wouldn't fall. That didn't stop her, though, from instantly wanting to tell Steve to get up before he hurt himself. It just made her slow down enough to realize that he wasn't going to end up landing on his head.

"What's eatin' you, huh?" Steve leaned to the side and rested his arm against the posting. "You ain't let me touch ya since ya got here, and you're never this quiet. Somethin' happened and you ain't tellin' me."

Adelle sighed. How was she supposed to tell him that her feelings for him and her friendship with the others was about to get her thrown out of her own home? He knew that things were rougher at school, but that just made him laugh. The fact that the other Soc's ragged on her and ousted her from their clubs yet she hadn't backed down was enough to make him boast that he had the Greasiest Soc in the state, and he'd gotten it all with his crooked teeth and dirty face.

What would he do if she told him everything? She didn't know how he'd react. For all she knew, he could decide to suddenly grow a streak of honor and give her up. Or, he could threaten to beat up her father. Then again, he could turn the whole thing into a Greasers verus Soc's matter and once a rumble started, people would get hurt. None of the options worked for her, so she couldn't tell him unless it was absolutely necessary. She couldn't tell him until she had made up her own mind of what to do.

"I… I just had a bad day at school, Steve." She sighed and walked closer to him, though staying just far enough to keep the grease on his pants and chest from hitting her clothes. "I screwed up on a test because my head wasn't where it was supposed to be and I've been bummed about it all day."

"You're such a liar."

"I am not! Steve Randle, of all the people in the world, you are the last one to call me a liar. I said I had a bad day at school, and that's that."

She held her ground and stared at him firmly. She wasn't going to change her story, whether he believed her or not. All he could do was choke down her half-truth, because she did do below a B on an exam, and get over it. "I don't believe you," he told her.

Adelle sighed. "I know." She shrugged, then leaned in and kissed him lightly. "But, that's all you're getting out of me, so you might as well be happy with it." She stood up straight and let her arms fall loosely at her sides. "Now, I'm going to go in there and make things alright with Two-Bit, else he'll be whining to Pony about it all day. And, then, I'm going to ask Darry if you can take a shower because you're way too filthy for me be that close to."

"You gonna take that shower with me?"

Adelle barked a laugh. "Not likely."

"Then, I ain't takin' yet."

"Yes, you are."

She turned on her heel and half-stomped back inside. Steve could protest all he wanted, but before the night was over, he would be taking a shower. And, before the night was over, she was pretty sure that she would have to admit to herself, and probably to Emma during the ride back home, that she had acted the most Soc that she had since the day she accepted Steve's first date proposal.


	3. Chapter 3

"I think…" She shook her head and looked towards the front door. "I think maybe I should go and talk to her. She's not going to say anything to Steve about what's wrong, and she'll just end up mad."

"So, you're gonna tell Steve?"

"No."

"So, there is something wrong."

"No! I mean… if there were something wrong, I'd tell him?"

"No."

"Will you tell me?"

"I'm not telling you anything."

"So, there is something wrong."

Emma turned to Sodapop Curtis and glared. She didn't know what to think of the high school drop-out, and she thought it would make life all the more easier if she could figure it out. If she knew exactly what it was about him that attracted her besides his pretty face and apparent ignorance at the fact that he wasn't supposed to be hanging around her, maybe she could make a decision on just how much of this Soc/Greaser interaction she could take.

Sitting in the room with Adelle outside, she felt slightly uncomfortable. It wasn't the first time that she'd been alone in a room for a short while with the Curtis brothers and their friends, but it was the first that she could remembering sitting with a muttering Two-Bit and Darry shaking his head. Except for Soda's taunting, the room was silent, as though everybody were waiting for something. What that something was, she wasn't sure.

They could have been waiting for Adelle's obvious oncoming break down. The girl was having a rough time of life, and there was no way that it was lost on all of these people. Sure, in what had once been their own inner circle, no one would have noticed anything. None of them had noticed how happy she was until that happiness caused her to defend Ponyboy at school, leading her to giving him a ride home and showing everyone that she really did align herself with Greasers. Truth be known, their circle didn't even realize that Emma was so far gone into her own little world half the time that she didn't even listen when they spoke. As long as their personal belongings and status were intact, they didn't really care much about anyone else.

However, these guys had never seemed very blind to much of anything. The first time Adelle brought her to the house, Darry had been very quick to pick up on her apprehension and had said as much. It seemed as if they were all trying to be on their best behavior, though Two-Bit did tend to let that best behavior fall the second he realized that yet another of his friends was giving eyes to a Soc. Yet, even with the ensuing attitude, Emma had always gotten the feeling that these Greaser boys knew everything that was going on around them and to them at all times. It was just a matter of one asking.

And she thought that Steve was asking right at that moment. And so was Soda.

"I don't really think we should have come over here tonight." Emma sighed. "I think she did it for me, but…"

She paused, waiting for the oncoming question of what was wrong with her. The closest she got was Two-Bit's comment, "If I gotta listen to the problems of the South side all night, then you're gonna have to pay me, and don't say you can't afford it."

Emma groaned. She folded her arms around her midsection and pulled herself tight for a second before loosening slightly. Were they all waiting for Adelle to break down… or for Emma to explode? She knew that tension was building inside of her, but she didn't think she was going to crack. Of course, most people who cracked didn't expect it, either, but Emma thought that her time around these people had brought enough awareness to her that she would be able to see it coming.

"I'll have you know," she said, "that if I need a psychiatrist, I will be more than happy to go to one that doesn't talk with his mouth full."

"Oooh, it's just like I said. So—" He stopped as Ponyboy gave him an evil look. "True colors are showin' tonight."

"There are no true colors, Two-Bit. Just people having bad days. Some of us have them, ya know."

Soda leaned forward, resting his arms on his thighs, and all Emma noticed when she looked at him was that his hair fell into his face in such a way to draw attention to his sparkling eyes. She wanted to brush away the hair out of a habit of neatness, but at the same time, she wanted it to stay just the way it was. She also didn't want to hear Two-Bit's mouth if she brushed hair out of his face.

Emma sighed and shook her head. "Why are you looking at me?"

"Because I want to."

"Do you always do what you want to do?"

He turned towards his older brother and winked, then turned back to Emma. "Unless Darry tells me I can't."

"And I'm about to tell you that you can't pick on that girl anymore." Darryl Curtis stood up and sighed. "It's time you kids started your homework. As soon as Adelle's back in here, the three of you are gonna get on that paper 'cause Ponyboy's not allowed to fail, and I don't think your parents would appreciate you failin' either."

"My parents…" Emma shook her head and decided against saying it. "Alright, Darry, we'll do our homework."

She thought it was strange, yet comforting that Darry was so parental. She had never really liked being parented, but at the same time, it was nice to see someone actually take an active hand, to actually care what went on. She never asked, but she often wondered why Darry had never taken his brothers up in life. He would never be completely Soc, but he wasn't totally Greaser, either. She got the feeling that he could have been more, but his own status in society was far less important to him than his family. It was a concept that she didn't think she saw much of in anyone other than him.

Emma turned towards Soda and sighed. He was just so… She didn't know what he was. She thought if she had to put a label on him, he would just be normal. Neither here nor there, and not really too much closer to one side or the other. And yet, for as average as he seemed to be, he made her feel anything but. "Are you going to watch me do my homework, too, Soda?"

He grinned and sat back. He stretched his arms along the back of the couch and said, "Maybe. Haven't made up my mind yet."

"Something's wrong with you, Sodapop Curtis, you know that?"

"That's what they tell me."

She sighed, then was very glad to hear the front door creak open because she had no idea how to respond to him… the words or the devilish grin on his face. She turned to see Adelle walking in and thought that at the very least, the fact that her make-up was all in place was a good thing. They really did need to work on that paper, considering that neither of them had done very much work on it. But, all the same, she almost wished that things had went badly, because then they would have been leaving, and Emma wouldn't have to wonder about Soda and what was behind his grin. At least, not right at that moment.


	4. Chapter 4

Ponyboy was doing most of the work, not because the girls didn't want to do it, but because their heads were just elsewhere. If he were distracted by the previous events and attitudes of the night, he wasn't showing it. The most reaction they got out of him was the occasional red mark on their page, letting them know that something was definitely wrong.

Adelle turned behind her and peered into the other room. The guys were all sitting around, doing absolutely nothing. Well, she was sure they were doing something, but as far as she was concerned, it was nothing. It was better to think of them as doing nothing, than to think of Steve doing something without her. She knew it was completely irrational. Almost everything he did was done without her. However, as dilemma grew closer and her life went crazier, she needed something that seemed to be a sign one way or another.

Maybe if he turned to look at her or something. Maybe if he did something that showed her that she was even close to be as important to him as he was to her. She didn't think that her face went through his head a million times a day like his did with her, but she wanted to know that she was more than a conquest for him. She wanted to know that she was more than the little Soc that he was playing with. She didn't want him to be kissing her face, then turning around and laughing about it with Two-Bit and Soda when she was gone.

"Adelle, Pony's talking to you." She blinked and turned back towards the table. She looked at Emma and shook her head. "Hello… Adelle…"

"Huh?"

"Pony said that you haven't changed what he told you to change. We are trying to not fail, you know. I would really hate to repeat the eleventh grade."

Adelle sighed and held back the comment that was right on her tongue. Steve was going to be graduating in a few months. He'd been held back twice throughout his school career, but this time he was really getting out. He just wasn't a school type, and Adelle was almost positive that he only went to school because Darry said he wasn't having more than one high school dropout hanging around his house.

"Pony, why doesn't Steve talk to me at school?"

Ponyboy had turned back to his work, but at the question, his head popped right up. He looked her with confusion, and Adelle really couldn't blame him. It wasn't a usual question, and knowing that he and Steve were nowhere near being actual friends, she'd never asked him anything about him. If she just had to ask someone, she usually left those for Soda. Pony blinked and said, "Huh?"

"Well, I know he's Soda's friend, not yours, but I figured you had to have heard something."

"Well, Adelle, I, uh… I don't really listen when Steve talks. Even if I did, he usually has food in his mouth, so I can't really understand what he's saying." He shrugged. "So, I really don't know why he doesn't talk to you at school. Maybe he just doesn't wanna cause trouble."

"Not likely. Steve loves to cause trouble." She turned to Emma. "Why doesn't he talk to me at school? He doesn't hang around with those other girls, but he doesn't talk to me, either."

"Um… I don't really know, Adelle." Emma sighed and shrugged her shoulders. Her hair fell loose of one pin and she carefully put it back up. "It's not like he's in school all that much. It's amazing he hasn't been failed again because he's never there."

"That's because he'd rather work at the station. And the teachers don't want him around anymore. He's not stupid or anything."

"I know! I didn't say that he was stupid. I just said that he doesn't go to class. Jeez, Adelle, you really need to calm down about it. Steve…" She stopped talking instantly when she felt a tug on her hair. Her head jerked back and she looked up into Soda's laughing eyes. "What are you doing?"

"I came to check on ya. Darry was gonna do it, but I told him I'd do it instead. I know how to light a fire under Pony." He looked over and laughed as his brother gave him the finger, though not looking at him. "That's not nice, Pony. It's getting late, and Darry's about ready to send these girls home. It's a school night."

"We're not done yet." Pony looked up at him and groaned. "Tell him we'll be done in a little while. We'd be done a lot sooner if you'd go away and leave us alone."

"Now, Pony, you're just bein' mean." He laughed and turned around. "Hey, Steve! They're back here talkin' about ya!"

At Steve's responding scream, Adelle instantly blushed and dropped her head down on the table. She put her hands over her head, squeezing her arms tightly together so she couldn't hear. All she could decipher was laughter and muffled words as he spoke, pretty obviously, around food. Hands grabbed her waist and yanked her up out of the chair. Adelle screeched and floundered.

"Steve, put me down! I've gotta do my homework!"

"You're talkin' about me, huh?" He heaved her up over his shoulder and popped her once on the rear. "Now, what're you talkin' about?"

"That you're dirty!"

"I took a shower. Next!"

"Your face is covered in chocolate!" She beat on his back and kicked her feet. She called out and begged and pleaded for help until Darry finally came in and put everyone out of the room who wasn't doing homework. Adelle sat back down, her back rigid and straight. As Darry admonished them and told them to get to work, she passed crooked glances towards Emma and Pony. When they were alone again, Adelle asked, "What did you tell them?"

"I didn't say anything!" Emma looked at Pony. "Tell her I didn't say anything!"

"She didn't say anything."

"Well, somebody said something because Soda and Steve were talking about something before Steve picked me up, so he had to know I was saying something that needs to be answered but won't be answered because I'm not asking Steve because…"

"Because you're babbling." Emma sighed and rolled her eyes. "Forget about Steve and whatever he does or doesn't do at school. He won't be there that much longer. And besides, defending Pony at school is one thing. Would you really go up to Steve and give him a hug at school?"

"Yes!" she said quickly. "Yes, I would because I…" She stopped as Pony looked at her. She shook her head and sighed. "Yes, I would, but it doesn't matter because he's not going to do it, because I think way much more of him than he does of me."

"You don't know that, Adelle."

"Yes, I do."

"How do you know?"

"Because I just… I do, alright? And it doesn't matter. It's not like we're going to be together forever or anything. I'm what I am, he's what he is, and we…" She sighed. "We at this table are a group of kids trying to get through our homework, so how about we do that, huh? I really can't afford to fail another test. It'll get me thrown out of the house faster than anything else I could possibly do, and the whole point of right now is to not get kicked out."

"You're gettin' kicked out?"

"No, Pony, I'm not. So… let's get back to this paper, okay? I would really just like to get my homework done before Darry blows a gasket."


	5. Chapter 5

Sometimes, Emma was certain that hell was high school. For all eternity, one was forced to walk the halls as an outsider, receiving snarky comments from the Socs and being tripped by the Greasers. Whatever the middle ground was between the North and South sides… that's what one became as punishment for all misdeeds. At least there was a title to be held on either side of the spectrum. In the middle, one was nothing, just the common place where Soc and Greaser met.

Sometimes, standing in the hallway, Emma was certain that she was already in hell and when the bell rang to signify the end of the day, the whole bitter scene would play out again. Standing in the hallway, with the South side boys talking about their cars and the upcoming football game and the North side boys grabbing the rear ends of their girlfriends and laughing obnoxiously just because they could, Emma was certain that she didn't belong in either group. Standing in the hallway beside Adelle, being the only person who would speak to the girl outside of the losers in between who wanted her for their group, Emma was certain that her head was going to explode.

"He came to school today," Adelle said in a soft voice. She clutched her books to her chest and stared off down the corridor. "I didn't think he would, and when I asked Pony this morning, he said that he didn't know, but he actually came."

Emma turned her attention from the whispering Socs and looked down the other way. The whispering behind her grew, and she knew what they were talking about, even if she couldn't hear all of their words. They were calling her a traitor, muttering that the grease had rubbed off on her. They were calling the both of them tramps, whores, whatever else they could say that would hurt their feelings. However, they were unaware that the only thing that could hurt Adelle was for Steve to shun her. The only thing that could hurt Emma was to realize that she was truly stuck in hell's abyss with no chance of going in either direction.

Steve Randle stood in the center of the group. He was turned to the side, his eyes jumping back and forth between loud boys who talked about rumbles and what it was like to feel their fist break the nose of Soc faces. If he felt the eyes of Adelle on him, he didn't make notice of it. He didn't turn towards her, and he didn't motion to her. He was in his own little group, in his own little world, and within a few months, he'd be gone from high school forever. Until he died, that is, and he was sent back into high school hell.

"Go talk to him, Adelle," Emma said softly, giving her a small nudge. "He's right there, and I'm sure that nothing he's talking about could be so important that you'd be intruding."

Admittedly, as much as she just wanted Adelle to stop sighing, Emma was curious as to whether or not her friend could actually do it. She had been so quick the night before to say that she'd have no problem talking to Steve in public, that she would go to him and hug him in front of the entire school, but those were just words. The chance for action was there, and Emma wasn't so sure that Adelle could go through with it. She didn't know if she would actually move towards him in particular with Soc eyes trained so heavily on her. Talking to Ponyboy Curtis about homework was one thing. Letting the entire school know that yes, she was in fact, somewhat dating Steve Randle of the DX gas station was something totally different.

Yet, there was more than curiosity's sake at stake in her urgences. Emma wasn't just caught in the middle of high school. She was caught in the middle of life. She didn't belong with the Soc crowd, but at the same time, she wasn't one of _them_ either. However, considering that her anxiety and tension were both lessened when she was at the Curtis house, she thought that maybe they were closer to the type of people that she could see herself associating with than those who had the same wealth as she did. Maybe, if Adelle could take the step forward, she would be able to follow her. If not in that direction, specifically, at least to the point of actually making a decision either way.

"I can't," Adelle said softly. She blinked and her eyelashes were moist. She turned to Emma and lightly chewed on her bottom lip. "It's not that I don't want to, but I'm… I'm afraid, Emma."

"Of what? Of them?" She forced herself not to turn around and point to those who were probably already pointing at them. "I thought you said you didn't care what they thought. You don't care that they see your car driving out of our neighborhood and heading there. They've already shut you out, Adelle. There's nothing else they can do to you."

"It's not them," she said, turning back towards the crowd. "It's Steve." Adelle took in a deep breath and let it fall slowly from her lips. Her body sagged. "What if I walk over there and he doesn't say anything? Or worse, he turns me away? Touching me at the Curtis house is one thing. Talking to me in front of all of his other friends is something different."

"Yeah, but he's done all of that with you in front of his best friend, the only one that counts, and that's something totally different. Soda doesn't give him grief, so I wouldn't think that he'd actually care about the people here."

Emma was proud of herself that she didn't actually sigh when she said Sodapop's name, though in her head, she could hear and feel the whoosh of breath that followed it. She would almost swear that it was all the fault of his eyes. In fact, if she did end up in high school hell, she was going to blame it all on Sodapop Curtis's eyes, and maybe, if she were lucky, she could use him as a good enough defense to get a ticket right out of hell. A boy with eyes so blue shouldn't look at a girl the way that he did. It was just unnatural and more than a little cruel.

He looked at her like he could see right through her. He looked at her as though he knew all of her questions and had all of the answers, but he would only give those answers to her if she asked the questions. Well, that most certainly wasn't going to happen. Even if she did knew what her questions were, exactly, she wasn't going to leave their unravelling to the wit and wisdom of Soda. That was just asking for trouble, and there was enough of that on her hands to go actively searching for more.

And still, if Adelle could just cross the hallway and talk to Steve, maybe it would give her enough backbone to admit to herself that she liked more about Soda than just his eyes. Maybe, if she saw that there was actually something there besides one-sided infatuation between Adelle and Steve, then maybe she could admit that there was more to Soda than that he was the bad boy with which she shouldn't be associating. There really did have to be a reason that he unnerved her so, and yet, she continued to put herself in situations where he would spend the night making her tense. And maybe there was more to his attentions than just the thrill of setting a girl on edge.

"It's still scary," Adelle whispered. "Before, I knew exactly what I was supposed to do. Classes ended, I went straight to the gym and got dressed for cheer practice. Now, there's no cheer practice for me to go to. School ends and I wonder if, on the off chance that Steve decided to come to school, he's going to be going straight to the station. And then, it becomes…"

"Should you rush over there or wait because you don't want to seem eager." Emma sighed and shook her head. "I know, it's hard, but you've got to make up your mind, Adelle. We can't just stand here in the hall forever. We haven't gone to hell, yet."

"What?"

She shook her head. "Nevermind." Emma turned to look behind them, then sighed. Marcia and Cherry stood waiting impatiently, and it was obvious that they both wanted to see what was going to happen. Cherry Valance was the girl with the reputation of feeling sympathy for the Greasers, but when the chips fell and it was time for action, her sympathy didn't carry enough weight. She was back in good with the Socs, and Emma and Adelle were on the outside.

"Will you go with me?"

"What?" Emma turned to her with wide eyes. She was supposed to be a spectator, sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see if it were safe to go forward. "You want me to go over there? I don't know anybody there."

"You know Steve. And Steve could take us to Pony, because if Steve's here, he'll know where Pony is. And Pony's probably outside waiting for Two-Bit to pick him up."

"But I talked to Pony today, already." Which had been hard enough, she didn't add out loud. Thanking him for his help with her homework had been awkward, even more so since she was sure that it had been obvious to him that she had made sure that no one was around to see them. "I don't have a reason to go over there."

"You have me," Adelle told her. There was so much need and fear in her eyes and Emma bit her lip. "Please, Emma, don't make me go over there alone."

Emma decided that sometime during the ride to school and first period, she had in fact died, and this was her hell. The second she started walking, everything would rewind and she would be back in her car, sitting outside of the school. There was no other explanation for the situation she found herself in. Sure, she could say that it was because she held loyalty to the only person that she didn't fake a smile with, but the idea of hell sounded so much better. It was much more exciting, and at the same time, all the more depressing.

A hand touched her arm and Emma jumped. "We need to replace a cheerleader, and we want you to try out," Cherry said. As she spoke, her eyes flashed quickly to Adelle, then went back to Emma. "If you come with us, the crowd will go."

Emma hadn't realized that there was actually a crowd to disperse until Cherry said something. She looked around and there were more Socs standing behind her. They were closer as well. In the other direction, Steve was finally looking their way, as were his friends. There were more of them, too. The classes had emptied already, and everyone should have been gone. At most, she would have expected only a few to be left in the stare-down between South Side and North Side. She didn't expect most of the school and quite a few teachers to be there, too.

"I don't want to be a cheerleader," she said, pulling her arm away from Cherry. "And you're really not helping the situation any." She looked to Adelle. "Do you really want me to go with you?"

"Yes."

"You can't be her friend anymore, Emma. Unless you want to be on the outside, too, you can't be her friend. I've done all that I can, but…" Cherry sighed. "If Bob hadn't died, then maybe it wouldn't be so hard. But now, things are different. You can't be talking to Ponyboy Curtis, and you can't be Adelle's friend, anymore."

Emma turned to the side and tears were falling from Adelle's eyes. She didn't think Adelle was crying because of what Cherry said. She had to know by then that even if she didn't take anymore trips with her to the Curtis house or anywhere else that she needed a friend to be, Emma would never leave her completely alone. She had to know that the surest way to get Emma to do something was to tell her not to do it. She thought that the tears could only be because she was truly invisible. Cherry stood there, talking about her as though she weren't even present, and as far as she had noticed, Steve didn't even know she had spent the past five minutes staring at him. She would have rather been the butt of someone's joke than to not be there at all.

And suddenly, Adelle was spinning on her heel. Emma watched her walk slowly across the way and stop a few feet in front of Steve. She watched her wipe her face and say something that made Steve frown. She watched the boys and girls around Steve back away, while Steve moved closer to Adelle. He took her arm and started to turn away, but Adelle didn't move. She looked back at Emma because as sure as Emma wouldn't have left her, she wasn't going to leave Emma.

With a sigh, Emma looked at Cherry. She didn't know what the words were between Steve and Adelle. She didn't know if their leaving together meant anything more than Steve's desire to do something to upset the Socs on the other end of the hall. But, Adelle had taken the chance, and that's what she'd been asking her to do all along. "I don't want to be a cheerleader," she said to Cherry, then turned around. And walked off to join Adelle.


	6. Chapter 6

Adelle looked behind her and wondered if she were being a bad friend. Emma sat in her car, tapping the steering wheel, probably considering if she actually needed the gas that she was paying Soda to pump. It wasn't really fair to her that she'd been brought all the way to the DX and had to sit there by herself. Though, if she were really a good friend to Emma, she wouldn't have brought her there in the first place.

Adelle was pretty sure that both of their lives were somewhat ruined. Emma's parents would be home within the next two days, and they would most likely hear about the little interaction at the school. It was almost definite that her own parents would hear, and when Adelle got home, she would find her belongings sitting on the front porch. They would know that both girls had walked off with the so-called Greasers. Plus, Emma would be shunned when they showed up the next day, same as she was. Adelle was used to it, but Emma didn't deserve to be dragged down with her. So, on the whole, she figured that she wasn't a very good friend, at all.

As bad as she felt about it, though, Adelle couldn't focus too hard on that. Not at the moment. Yes, it made her a bad person in that second, but she hoped that Emma would forgive her. Everything was so up in the air in her life right then that she didn't know what she was doing. All she knew was that everything moved so fast the second Cherry Valance came over and started running her mouth. The second that redheaded harpie came over and proved that Adelle was truly invisible to all of those who had once mattered.

And yet, she wasn't invisible to the one who mattered, now. She didn't know what would happen when she walked over to Steve. Most of her mind told her that he was going to walk off with his friends. That he would leave her standing there, embarassed and humiliated. She would have thrown her comfortable life away on a boy that she thought was the world, but only thought of her as the immediate thrill. There was no way that the Socs would take her back after where she had been, and that would have left her alone.

But, he didn't walk away. She was so relieved that he was actually touching her in front of his friends that she couldn't hear a word that he was saying. Even as he drove her car to the gas station, she was sure he was explaining why he didn't have a ride, or maybe just saying that he would have walked, but she couldn't hear any words. All she heard was the sound of her breathing rocking back and forth between her ears. She had handed the keys over to him with shaky hands and slid into the seat.

Everybody was watching her. She was sure that Emma was going to follow them to the station without a word, but she didn't know what the others would do. Would they run back to her parents? Would they instantly start spreading more rumors? "Adelle Landry puts out for the Greasers," she'd heard a million times. She never cried over rumors, but she was always mad. She had never put out for anybody, and unlike the Soc boys, Steve had never actually asked her to put out. They kissed and he felt places that boys in her previous social circle had never felt, but he'd never tried to force himself on her and never made her feel bad for not going all the way with him. The only thing that he'd ever done to make her feel bad was to ignore her in school, and she was pretty sure that it wouldn't happen anymore.

"Adelle, come on." She blinked away thoughts that were worth over a thousand pennies and looked at Steve. She hadn't even realized he'd come back from putting on his coveralls, but there he was, sitting on the hood of her white convertible. "You didn't say a thing all the way over here. You gonna tell me now what's goin' on?"

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Until last night, he'd only ever seen the happy Adelle, the bright and shining girl that was squeaky clean except for the little spot of motor oil that he smudged onto her cheeks. Until she walked up to him in school, he'd never seen her cry. How was she supposed to spill out everything that had been going on in her life when she'd held so much inside?

"Why don't you ever talk to me in school, Steve?" She figured she could put the burden of the conversation onto him. If she got him just defensive enough, he might forget about the other questions and focus on that long enough. Maybe he'd try to do something to make her forget her problems, and in the process, forget them himself. "Are you ashamed of me or something?"

"Aw, come on, Adelle." He rolled his eyes and swung his legs. His heels hit lightly against the side of the car. Not hard enough to dent, but enough to scuff, and Adelle was going to make sure he cleaned that scuff off. This car was hers by right, it said so on the papers when her grandmother left it to her. It was the one thing besides her grandmother's money that she knew her parents couldn't take away from her. "You know I ain't ashamed o' you."

"Then why don't you ever talk to me at school? I know you don't go all that often, but when you do, it's like I'm not even there. I'm invisible to a lot of people, Steve. I never thought I'd actually be invisible to you."

That wasn't entirely true, but there was no need for him to know that. Her biggest fear was that he'd look right through her and walk on as though she weren't even there. It was the whole reason for the catastrophe they were currently in. She wanted him to see her, and that was why she stood in the hallway with Emma. She just wanted him to look her away and smile or wave or anything that would show that to someone besides the one person she knew would always be at her side knew she existed. She knew Emma would always be there, but love with boys was so much different, and so often one-sided that she just couldn't be sure with Steve.

"How come you never come over to talk to me, huh? You scared the prissy Soc boys aren't gonna wanna talk to you anymore if they actually gotta see you with a greasy bum like me?"

"That's not fair, Steve!" She blinked at him, shocked that he'd actually say that. Hadn't she been thrown out of her social club for him? She may not have said it outright, but he had to know that being with him was why they kicked her off of the cheer team. "I don't come talk to you because I don't know that you want your friends to see you talking to me. You've never done more than flirt with me same as you flirt with every other girl that comes around this gas station when we're anywhere but at the Curtis house. How am I to know that I'm not just your Soc plaything? Is it some kinda bet you have with Soda to see just how many Socs you can upset by smiling at one of their girls?"

"Now, you wanna talk about unfair? That's just downright wrong o' you to say, Adelle. Don't I take you around with me to my best friend's house? Don't I get on Two-Bit when he starts shit with you and Emma? I don't give a rat's ass or a gallon o' gas what anybody at that school thinks. If they got a problem with me likin' you, then they can all kiss my ass, that's what they can do." Steve sighed and slid off the hood. His hand, miraculously clean, slid along the side of the car. He stooped down at Adelle's door and sighed again. "I just don't wanna cause you no more trouble, alright? I know I ain't no good, Adelle."

"Steve…" She put her hand on top of his and looked at his fingers. His nails were still dirty, but the rest of his hand was clean. In fact, the back of his hand was still slightly damp, signifying that he'd just washed his hands. Adelle almost pouted at the thought of him scrubbing his hands as best he could, knowing that it had to have been for her benefit, because left to his own will, he would have been covered in oil from head to toe.

"Girls like you… they don't stick around me, Adelle. Girls like you go for Soda 'cause he's so cute and Darry makes him stay clean. Or they go for Pony 'cause he's all smart and poetical and stuff." He paused and Adelle held her tongue, though it almost hurt to not tell him that poetical wasn't a word. "I ain't no good. No good at all, and if it wasn't for you, I'd probably end up like Dally soon. I like to fight and I like to get in trouble, but there's gotta be some good in me if you like me, right?"

"There's good in you, Steve. Darry wouldn't let you around his house if there weren't any good in you. You'd be in jail if you weren't any good. And… you're finishing high school when a lot of people would have just dropped out. You're not all bad."

"But, I'm bad enough, and I know it." He stood up, hopped over the hood of the car, slid off, then jumped into the passenger seat. He laid on the seat with his head just to the right of the gear shift and most of his legs hanging over the rolled-down window. Adelle reached out to him and he took her hand, resting it against her cheek. "So, I figure, the longer you're around, the longer I'll stay not so bad, ya know? So, I don't wanna cause you no more trouble 'cause then you'll go away and I'll be no good all over again."

"Steve, I…" She paused, unsure of what to say. It was more emotion and just… reality… than she would have expected from Steve. She thought he would have been aloof or that he'd joke the situation off. She didn't think that he'd actually give her an honest answer. "I'm not going anywhere, Steve. And any trouble I've got, it's all because of me, okay? I made the choice to go out with you. I made the choice to spend time with you and your friends. I made the choice to walk over to you."

"If you'd have cried over there, I'd have had to come over there and kick some Soc ass right there in that school, and ain't no way they're gonna throw me out 'cause all I did was fight, which means I'd be back and they'd be stuck with me longer."

Adelle laughed and after the day she'd had, it was nice to feel a smile stretching her face. "That's nice, Steve, but you didn't have to because I walked to you first. And you didn't ignore me." She sighed and let her fingers drift over his face. At his forehead, she jumped to grip the gear shift. "Just remember, any trouble I get now is all my fault, alright? It's not your fault."

Steve pulled his legs inside the car and sat up. He turned eyes on her more serious than she could ever remember seeing. "What's goin' on, Adelle? What trouble you say you got yourself into?"

Adelle shook her head. "It's nothing, alright? Just…" She sighed. "I should probably get going. Emma and I have homework, and if I leave her over there with Soda too long, she's liable to lose her head." Adelle giggled. "And you've gotta get to work, so I'm gonna go and I'll see you later."

"Tonight?"

She shrugged. "Maybe. Depends on what I've got on my plate." With a smile, she leaned over and gave him a kiss. It was a quicker kiss than she would have liked because the gear shift dug into her stomach and forced her to sit back down. What she really wanted to do was grab hold of him and never let him go, because she didn't know what her life would bring when she walked through the doors of her South side home. "If not, tomorrow. You are going to school tomorrow, right?"

"And miss the chance to show off in a Socs face? You gotta be kiddin' me."

"You're cute sometimes." She smiled at him, then leaned back onto the seat. "You'll sit with me and Emma at lunch tomorrow?"

Steve sighed. "If I gotta have lunch, I guess I can eat yours."

"Funny. Just go, else I'll never get out of here." Steve was resistant, but he finally got out of the car. Adelle drove around, stopping on the street in front of the pumps. Honking her horn made Emma turn away from Soda as he walked towards the garage and look at her. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah." She sighed and Adelle thought she wouldn't have minded if they stayed a little bit longer. "Everything okay with Steve?"

"Yeah. He really likes me." A shy grin stretched her lips and she bit her bottom teeth. "He's really a sweetheart, and I'll tell you all about it later. But right now, I gotta get home."

Whatever Emma was going to say about Steve was lost as her face went solemn. "Do you need me to go with you? I could follow you and…"

"No, it's fine," Adelle told her. "I have to do this myself. I got myself into it, so I have to take the consequences on my own. But… I'll call you, okay? I just didn't want to abandon you here, since it's because of me that you came. And… I'm really glad you came, Emma. I know I probably messed things up for you real good at school, but out of everybody, you're the only friend that I have left. I guess I should've let you go on with Cherry if you wanted…"

"I didn't want to go with Cherry. You're my friend, Adelle." She sighed. "Probably the only real friend I have, and I'm not going to let you go through this alone. If you need me, you give me a call, and I'll be there, okay?"

"Thanks, Emma. I really appreciate it."

"Stop thanking me. Let's just get gone from here before I go and do something foolish like tell Soda that I'll let him take me to the drive-in. Even though I'd be driving, thus I'd be taking him, but…" She shook her head. "It's all stupid, anyway, but you get the point."

"Yeah, I do." Adelle smiled at her, then with a few more words, pulled off slowly down the street. She watched Emma follow her in the rearview mirror until they reached her street. Emma turned off and Adelle kept going. Whatever happened in the next hour or so was something she had to go through alone. She knew her parents would yell at her. She didn't need them yelling at anyone else. Besides, she'd been expecting this. She knew it was coming. She could handle it. She hoped she could handle it, because if she couldn't, there was no telling where she would end up by the time the sun went down.


	7. Chapter 7

Emma stared at the pages in front of her and tried to make her eyes focus on the plight of Hamlet. Unfortunately, the only thing she saw on the page was Sodapop's face, his light blue eyes filled with laughter before he winked at her. She closed her eyes, counted to ten, then reopened them. Soda's face was still there. He was smiling at her, almost daring her to turn away. It was as though he were really there, could tell her every thought, and was ready to repeat everyone of them back to her verbatim.

With a heavy sigh, she slammed the book shut and sat back. Strangely enough, it was only when she studied alone that she found her thoughts drifting so heavily to Sodapop Curtis. When she spent her evenings at his house, she only thought of him when he actually came near. She could focus on her books at the Curtis house. Even when she just studied with Adelle, she could focus. When they were studying, there was an unspoken rule that neither said anything about anyone who lived on the North side. That would only end them up so far off course that they'd never be able to get anything done, and they had to get at least a little bit finished on their own, else Pony wouldn't help them at all. He wasn't going to do all of their work, and most of the time, they wouldn't even ask him to.

But, when she was alone, when the silence of her nearly emancipated life weighed down around her, she couldn't help but think of the cute boy with the laughing eyes that worked at the DX gas station. She wondered if, maybe, it wouldn't be so bad to go on a date with him. It wasn't like she had much of anything left to lose. She'd already handed over her Soc card when she walked away from Cherry at school. They certainly weren't going to talk to her, anymore. So, it couldn't really hurt anything to go to the movies with Soda.

She didn't really think that it was a fear of being banished that stopped her from being more open to the life that Adelle had put in front of her. In the past year, she had grown so distant that she felt like she wasn't part of the Soc crowd anyway. They talked, but she didn't hear what they said. Tyler Martin had asked her to go to the junior prom and she'd brushed him off. But, she still had her big house and her vacationing parents… and all of their money. Thus, as far as the others were concerned, she was still one of them.

Now, she was pretty sure that Tyler wouldn't be asking her to anymore movies. The invitation to join the cheer team wasn't going to come again. And really, she didn't care. She didn't want to be one of the mindless automatons that walked around with the naïve and self-absorbed view that the only problem in the world was whether to get the red convertible or the black one. She didn't fear losing their overrated approval. She feared the change.

As much as she didn't want to be like everyone else, Emma had grown accustomed to the only life she'd ever known. Everything outside of her own little area was unexplored territory. There were dangers out there, and she couldn't gauge how bad they were. She couldn't just take that plunge, and going on a date with Soda would be a full body cannonball right into the deep end of the pool. She was barely used to getting her feet wet in the wading pool.

But, Adelle had taken the leap, and she seemed to be doing…. Well, she wasn't okay, but she wasn't completely ruined, either. Her best friend had been happier than she could have ever imagined when Steve Randle touched her at school. That was the bright side to the dimming situation that loss more and more light with each second. Everything wasn't sunshine and roses, but it wasn't completely screwed up, either. There was still a possibility for the sun to peek through. She had Steve, after all, and that was all Adelle wanted. That had never been in question. What Emma wanted, though, was a whole other story.

Sighing, she stood up and walked to the window. What she wanted right then was to know if Adelle were okay. Flourescent lights up and down the street shone down on the darkening sidewalks of Tulsa. Emma had tried to call Adelle's house at least four times since she got home, but no one ever answered. She almost wished that she had gotten Pony's number, because then she'd at least have somewhere else to check. It would have been easier than searching for her at Steve's house because one, Adelle had mentioned a few days back that Steve's phone was off, and two, she didn't even know where Steve's house was to call him. All in all, she had no way of knowing if Adelle was okay, or if her life were in ruins and she was trying to be brave and handle it on her own.

And then, the phone rang.

* * *

Knowing something was going to happen and the reality of its occurrence were two different things, and Adelle found that out when she arrived home to her mother throwing all of her clothes to the floor and her father waiting for her at the door. She had disgraced the family. She cared more for her rebellious ways and those dirty hoods than she did her own family. She was a dirty whore. He knew what those greasy hoods on the North side wanted and the only reason they'd have to talk to her is to get that. The only reason to talk to her in public would be to show everyone else that some good girl had been tainted. She was tainted and dirty, and she would not live in that house.

Adelle tried to tell them that she hadn't done anything wrong. She even offered to go to the doctor and let them prove she was still a virgin. For as much as she said that she didn't care what they thought, she didn't want to be left without any family. She didn't want to have to grow up so soon. She was a teenager, and she just wanted to have fun. She just wanted to spend time with a boy that she really loved. She didn't meant to disgrace anybody. She would do anything to stay home, but then they told her what she had to do, and she couldn't. Anything but that, she had begged them, but the Landrys were persistent. It was either them, or that Randle boy at the gas station. She had to make a choice.

And before she knew it, she was in her car, sitting outside of the Curtis house. She'd considered going to Emma, but that wouldn't have been fair to her. She had caused Emma so much trouble already that she half expected to be turned away if she came knocking on her door. Besides, even if Emma did let her in, the Strattons would have kicked her out the second they returned from whatever European country that served as their vacation spot this time around.

She had driven past Steve's house, but the lights were out. If his father was asleep, she didn't want to disturb anyone. She didn't want to get Steve into any trouble. Besides, if he were home, at least one light would have been on. With the house dark, that meant he wasn't there, and part of her was glad. She didn't even know what she would have said to him if he were there. She hadn't told him about any of her troubles so far, and while she knew that he would find out eventually, there was no need to make him feel guilty when he'd been so nice at the station, early.

So, as the sun went down, Adelle stopped her aimless driving through Tulsa, Oklahoma and sat in front of the Curtis house. It was possible that Steve was inside, but at the same time, it was entirely possible that he and Soda were out doing something, somewhere. For as much as she knew, they could have still been at the gas station, which meant only Darry and Pony would be there, and maybe Two-Bit. She didn't know if she were in the right frame of mind to handle Two-Bit, but she hoped that he'd have enough decency in him to let it all go for the night.

Sighing, Adelle got out of the car and walked slowly towards the house. She stopped at the gate and turned back to her car. The top was down and the windows were up. The doors were locked. It didn't have anything to do with the side of town she was parked in. She locked her doors in front of her own house, too. All of her things were in there, or at least what she could grab and fit inside. There was still so much that she'd left behind, and she wanted to get them before her parents destroyed her things. And yet, she also hoped that maybe they would change her mind. Maybe they would at least meet Steve, realize he wasn't so bad, and let her come home. Of course, that was wishful thinking, but besides her money and her material things, that was all she had left.

Wiping tears from her eyes, Adelle opened the squeaky gate and walked the small path to the stairs. As she moved up the steps, she wondered if Darry would let her stay there for a little while if she gave him enough money to really fix the place up. She didn't want to move in for good or anything, just long enough to find some place else to go, or her parents changed their minds. Though, if she were waiting for the latter, she knew she really would have been there forever.

The screen door creaked as she pulled it open and her arm rose slowly. Her fist wrapped three times on the door and her arm dropped. She was standing there only a minute before she heard Darry yelling, and Ponyboy opened the door. He looked down at her with his dark hair falling past his eyebrows. She had never said anything before, or really even taken particular notice, but right then, she thought how much better he looked with dark hair than the platinum blond that he'd returned home with.

"Uh…" Ponyboy scratched the back of his head and said, "If you're lookin' for Steve, he's not here."

"I'm not. I mean, I figured he wouldn't be here. I, um… I need some help."

Ponyboy sighed. "I told you, Adelle, you gotta try to do it on your own. You don't pay near enough attention in class, and that's completely Steve's fault. You gotta..." He paused as Darry's voice came from what Adelle guessed was the kitchen. "It's Adelle!"

Darry came walking out with a towel over his shoulder. "Don't just stand there with the door open, Ponyboy. I'd expect that from Soda, but I know you've got better manners than that." He pushed him to the side and looked down. "Adelle, if you're lookin' for Steve, he's still at the DX with Soda. They should be back around here in a couple of hours." Another voice rang out and Darry turned. "Shut up, Two-Bit, or I'll make you go home." He turned back. "Did you want to wait inside?"

Adelle shook her head and ran her hands through her short black hair. "Everybody thinks I'm lookin' for Steve, but I'm not. I, um…" She turned and looked at her car, her belongings pushing against the windows. Her hand floated to her hair and shoved it uselessly behind her ear. "I got all my stuff in the car, Darry. I, um… I didn't have any place else to go, and I was hoping if I gave you some money that maybe, um, maybe I could, um…"

Her throat started to close around the knot that pushed its way up from her stomach and she could feel the tears starting to flow from her eyes. Darry touched her shoulder then his arm was around her back. She couldn't see much through the tears that fell, but she caught sight of blurs standing around her. Darry sat her down on the sofa and she looked up to see him, Pony and Two-Bit standing over her. Adelle's sobs were so loud that she couldn't understand anything Two-Bit was saying. She quieted herself enough to hear Darry ask Pony if he had her friend's phone number. Adelle knew that he didn't, and she tried to tell him what it was, but the words weren't coming. The best she could do was dig her address book out of her purse and hand it to him.

Pony ran off to call Emma and Adelle was left looking at Darry and Two-Bit. Darry sat down next to her and though he was initally tentative, almost unsure of what to do, he eventually pulled her close enough for her head to land in the dent of his shoulder. And that only made her cry harder, because someone who only knew her as Steve's girl cared more about her than her own father did.


	8. Chapter 8

There was something frightening about driving from the South side to the North side on her own. Emma didn't necessarily fear the area. There were enough people who knew her connection to the Curtis house that she didn't feel like she would be bothered. No, what made her fear was that things had finally changed. The world had finally flipped upside down and now Heaven was down and Hell was up.

The second she heard Ponyboy's voice, she knew what had happened. Pony didn't really understand what was going on, but all he could say was that Adelle was there and she was crying. Being one who knew the entire situation, she didn't have to ask him why she was there or how she ended up there. She knew that the worst had come to pass, and within minutes, she was in her car, headed to the other side of Tulsa.

For the first time, her nerves were even. Normally, she was on the edge of her seat, barely able to stop herself from shaking at the prospect of another night with Soda ginning at her. Now, even if Soda were there and he decided to do something, it wasn't important. She could handle anything that he threw her way, because that wasn't a crisis. In her own little world, things might as well have been perfect, or at least for the time being.

There was still the worry of her parents returning home. Someone would let them know that their daughter had turned her back on her own social class in favor of the dirty people across town. They would scream and rant and rave, but unlike Adelle's parents, any threats that her own mother and father tossed her way would be completely idle. In the end, they wouldn't want the scandal. Her house would become as cold as an Arctic igloo and there would be very few words spoken between her and her parents, but she knew that she would still have a home.

However, the leniency that she would be given wouldn't stretch into eternity. Emma knew her parents. She knew the way they thought. She only had another year of high school left and after she had her moment of rebellion, they fully expected her to go off to college and have no more thought of her indiscretions during her junior year. That would placate them during what they would see as the harsh times. However, if she were to do what she really wanted, which was bring Adelle home with her, she had no doubt that they would put their foot down. Without the constant influence of Adelle, they could hold onto their hopes that Emma would straighten out her life. With Adelle under their roof, she would only encourage her to rebel, encourage her to live in her daydream a little while longer.

The entire situation disgusted Emma. High society, indeed. What was so high about the persecution of others, when its only real purpose was to make themselves feel superior? The North side had less money, and because of that, most of them had less education, but that didn't make them bad people. They still worked hard and cared about their families. Some of them cared more for their children than the people in the grand houses that lived to the left and right of Emma. In the end, Greasers and Socs were both in the rumbles, and more times than not, the Socs were the ones who started the fights in the first place. The whole mess, the prejudice and bitterness, just made her sick.

Clutching the steering wheel tightly, Emma rounded the final corner and coasted along slowly down the street. She pulled up behind Adelle's car, then sat behind the wheel with the engine running. She didn't know how Adelle had managed to get all the way over there with the back window full. There was no way to see around or through the pile that climbed from the backseat of the car. She would guess that Adelle brought with her everything she could, though the girl had to have known that it wouldn't fit where she was going. Maybe she just didn't want her parents to burn any of it.

Sighing, Emma turned off the car and got out. She looked to the house and again, felt the bit of fear growing in her. She had never come to this house alone, and never thought she would. It had always been fun with her friend, to the point where she could understand why her parents would expect this lifestyle to be a passing fancy. She had thought that much of it herself. All the time that she had flirted with Soda, argued with Two-Bit and done her homework with Pony, in the back of her mind, she knew that it wouldn't last. She felt that she was playing, and at some point, the playground lights would go dim and she would return to her drab life. In a way, she thought that she might even be more appreciative of what she had after seeing everything that others didn't have.

Now, though, things were different. Adelle's eviction from her home by her own parents tinted the world that she'd never appreciated in the first place with a dark maroon shadow, so deep that it would soon turn to black. She saw the South side as the cruel people that they had tried to tell her lived on the North side. She saw how easily they turned on their own, and being so distant for so long, she knew it was only a matter of time before they turned on her. Life in general had just become one big mass of clutter and the only thing she could straighten out was that she was ashamed of her own kind.

Darry came to the door and Emma started her trek to the house. The front gate squeaked as she pushed her way through. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and wondered what she should say. He couldn't have known that this was coming into his life. He had so much trouble already, making sure that the state didn't come and take Soda and Pony away. Soda had finally reached eighteen, so that wasn't a problem, but Pony was only fifteen. If Adelle's parents caused problems, they could come and take Pony away. Though, Emma wasn't too sure that her parents would do much of anything besides ignore the fact that they ever had a daughter.

"You need to talk to her," Darry said. His words pushed Emma forward. "She won't talk to us. Anytime somebody asks her what happened, she just offers me money to let her stay here." He sighed and leaned against the doorframe. His hand slid through his hair, then back down and over his face. "I got a house full o' boys, Emma. I don't know how to handle a Soc girl."

Emma sighed. She felt bad for Darry, and at the same time was grateful for him. It was so hard to believe that a virtual stranger could be so kind. He could have easily told Adelle to go some place else, but instead, he let her babble and called her friend. He was a better person than most of her neighbors.

"She won't talk to Steve, either?"

He shrugged. "Not here. I sent Two-Bit over to the DX to get him, but I don't know if he'll come. It's Steve."

He spoke as if that should have been answer enough, as though Steve weren't one that was expected to do something nice for somebody else. If he'd have seen what happened at school earlier that day, he probably would have had a different attitude. Emma had to admit that even she hadn't thought of Steve as a particularly caring person. Sure, he liked Adelle and they had fun together, but beyond that, he was just another boy and they weren't known for their decency. After the school, though, she thought that it was very possible that Steve was on his way.

"I'll see what I can do, Darry," she said, "but Adelle… She'll clam up on me just like anybody else. She's not always open, but…" She sighed. "I can take her home with me until my parents come back if it's a problem. Or at least I can take her stuff somewhere? I don't know."

"Just talk to her and find out what's goin' on. I figure she's been kicked out, and that's Steve's fault. I knew that boy was gonna get somebody in trouble, but I always figured it'd be Soda. But, Steve got her in trouble, and you… just find out how hard it's gonna be to get her back home."

She didn't tell him that Adelle going home was, more than likely, not an option. He had enough to think about without the prospect of a crying girl begging him to give her a home. She had gotten to live in her own fantasy world for a while, it wouldn't hurt to let Darry have his.

Emma walked into the house and was directed to the back. She was told that Adelle was laying in Pony's room and when she walked in, the girl was still curled up on the bed. She called out to her and Adelle rolled over. Her eyes were red and puffy, her skin splotchy. She sat up and said, "I tried to tell them that I hadn't done anything, Emma. I really did."

"Adelle…" She crossed the room and sat down carefully on the bed. This was yet another place she never thought she would be. If it were Soda's room, she would have at least figured that he'd have gotten her in there once, just to tease her. But, Pony's room… "It's okay," she said, wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

"No, it's not. Because they said I was a whore, and they didn't even let me prove I didn't do anything. They didn't even want to give me a chance. They said… they said they never want to see me again!"

And Adelle fell into heavy sobs on Emma's chest. Emma wrapped her arms around her and held her tightly, wishing that she knew what to say, but at the same time knowing that there wasn't anything she could say. So, she just held her, let her cry and waited for Steve to show up and, for some reason, Soda, too.


	9. Chapter 9

It wasn't as though she set out to cause trouble. Things just sorta ended up that way. Really, Adelle hadn't had any intentions at all when everything began, except maybe to get some gas and find out what that funny noise was underneath her hood. She'd never meant to be the cause of disgrace, or the burden in a house that was already filled with enough of them.

Adelle knew that coming to the Curtis house had been completely and irrevocably selfish. She should have just gone to a hotel and made phone calls from there. She was sure that there was some place downtown that, if she threw enough money their way, would let a minor rent a room for the night. That would have been the decent, selfless thing to do. Too bad she wasn't in a particularly selfless mood after being thrown out of her home.

With her parents yelling at her and the image in her mind of everyone laughing at her from their gilded cages, Adelle just wanted to see someone who would tell her that she hadn't done anything wrong. For some reason, that person was, in her mind, Darry Curtis. He'd always been nice enough and even when Soda or Pony screwed up, he didn't go to extremes. She'd never personally even seen them argue, though listening to how Soda talked, it happened a lot. But, all she saw was a nice person who, at the least, would go and rent the room for her if she really needed an adult to do it.

Now, she laid curled up in Pony's bed, feeling like the biggest heel in all the world. She was putting people out, and if there was any breeding left in her, it was that she shouldn't do that to people who'd already shown her hospitality. If she could force herself out of the little ball that she'd curled into when Emma left the room, she would have wiped away her tears and after politely thanking Darry for his hospitality, gotten in her car and driven off. Pony would have his room, the house could go back to normal, and she'd have the memory of someone being nice to her after the worst day she could imagine.

"Why ain't you tell me, Adelle?" She was still facing the door, but her eyes had been closed. She wouldn't have been able to look at Steve when he spoke if she weren't already facing that direction. "You should've told me."

Adelle bit her bottom lip, then her jaw trembled. She wasn't sure if she wanted to cry because Steve sounded so upset or if it were because she hadn't expected him to come. She had been there when Darry sent Two-Bit to the DX, but so much time had passed, she'd wondered if he were even going to come. "There was nothing you could have done."

"I could've let ya walk away, Adelle." Steve leaned against the doorframe as a dark shadow. His shirt was open and spread languidly on either side of him. His arms were crossed over his chest, and in the darkness, Adelle couldn't tell just how dirty he was. His jeans were tight, and there were shadows over certain parts that led her to believe that the dark spots were grease. "I told ya before… I ain't no good and this proves it."

"It's not your fault, Steve." Slowly, she pushed her legs down straight. She pulled herself upright, then slouched her body forward. Her hair fell into her face and she tried to shove it back.

"Not my fault…" He spat out a harsh bark that was a mix between a laugh and a snort. "Ya know, Darry was right. I ain't no good, and the only reason I don't get Soda into trouble is 'cause he got more sense'n I do. Go on home, Adelle, and leave me be."

"Steve…" Her head rose and she looked up at him. She tried to see him in the darkness, but there were only shadows. She wanted to see his lopsided smile and crooked teeth. She wanted to see the face that was surely covered in grease smudges and specks of dirt. "I can't do that. If I couldn't do it then, I really can't do it now."

"Yeah, ya can. Go on home and tell 'em it was a mistake. Tell 'em you was stupid to even think about leavin'. Go on back home, Adelle, and don't come back to this side o' town, ya hear me?"

Steve turned quickly and walked out of the room, leaving Adelle to stare at his back. This was no time for him to be selfless. If anything, she wanted him to be selfish. She wanted him to tell her that she was right for leaving because she was her own person, she was more than just another Soc. Instead, he told her to be a Soc. He didn't say that directly, but as far as she was concerned, that's what he meant. Turn her back on him and go back to the glittering throng that she'd previously been a part of.

This was exactly why she didn't tell him in the first place. She knew that, for all of his talk and insistence that he was no good, he'd show just how good he could really be. He'd send her away and leave them both with pouts and her with a lot of tears if it meant that she wasn't lost in the world that he'd been born into. It wasn't fair to either of them, and she wanted him… She wanted him to do something other than show he cared by pushing her away. In some deep recess, beneath her pain and aching, she was angry, and would have loved nothing more than to hear him say he was going to do bad, painful things to her father. To think that her father could hurt as much as she did… It was a mean thing to think, but she was angry, and she only wanted others to feel her pain.

"Steve!" She leapt off of the bed, and it was the most she'd moved since arriving at the Curtis house. Adelle stopped at the door, holding onto the frame, and stared out. The lights in the hallway weren't overly bright, but she'd been in the dark long enough for the light to hurt her eyes. She squinted and started to move forward, then stopped at the arguing coming from the living room.

"I did it, alright?" It was obviously Steve's voice. "I told her to go on back there, 'cause bein' with me ain't doin' her no good. I told her to go!"

"You really think she's gonna do that, Steve? You really think she can just go back home like that?"

"They're her parents! They gotta take her back!"

"Or they can throw her right back out!" This was Darry's voice, and he took in a sharp breath. "Jesus, Steve, do you ever think about anything? Do ya think about what you're doin' or do ya just go and do what you want? You and Soda both…"

"Hey! Don't bring me into this!" Soda sighed. "I don't have anything to do with this."

"Oh, no? What happens when this girl's parents find out how much she's here? Another one's gonna get tossed out 'cause you and Steve don't think." Darry paused, then sighed. "Dammit, Steve, you gotta quit playin' with the Soc girls! You and Soda need to stop this!"

"I ain't playin' with her, Darry! You ain't see 'em… they made her cry..."

"Because of you! This is because you wanted to play with the Soc girls and now…"

"Stop it!" Adelle ran into the room and cut him off. She had a moment to see that Steve's entire stomach was streaked with grease and dirt before she wrapped her arms around his waist. "It's not Steve's fault, Darry! It's my fault!"

"Adelle…"

"No!" She shook her head and her hair brushed back and forth against Steve's chest. Any other day, she'd have been worried about the dirt that would be in her hair. Right then, she didn't care. His hands tentatively touched her back and she didn't care that his hands were probably filthy and no amount of soap in the world would get the black from underneath his fingernails. "It's my fault, Darry! I… I wanted to do somethin', ya know? Something… Something that would make me happy. I was just like Emma, but I hid it better. I cheered and I played society games, but it was just… it was all a game. It wasn't real. They all said that they were better, but they're not. This is better. I don't know for how long or why, but it is. No matter what Soda or Pony did, you wouldn't treat them like they treat us. You accept people here and they accept nobody but their own. If you want me to go, I will, 'cause I shouldn't have come here in the first place. You have enough trouble without me, but… Just don't yell at Steve, 'cause it's not his fault."

Darry's face fell into a mask of confusion and concern. Adelle watched as his eyes rose to Steve. From his disapproving scowl, it was obvious that he still thought this was Steve's fault, but he had to know that right then, nothing he said could change the way Adelle thought. He took in a deep breath and let it fall slowly from his lips. "For tonight, you can stay here," he said in defeat. "It's late, ya'll are still goin' to school in the mornin' and this is something that needs to be talked about with clear heads."

"I'll never think it's Steve's fault," Adelle said in a soft voice.

"Yeah, well… One day, you might change your mind." He shook his head. "In the meantime, you can sleep in Ponyboy's room and he can bunk with Soda." Neither boy seemed to like the idea, but neither of them really appeared to be in the mood to argue. "We'll talk about anything else tomorrow."

"I'll take your car and drive it to my house tonight." Adelle looked up. In the drama, she'd forgotten that Emma was still there until she spoke. She was sitting next to Soda, closer than Adelle had ever seen her. "I'll put your things in my house, then bring you something back tomorrow. I still say you should come live with me…"

"Emma…"

"Yeah, I know, my parents." She sighed. "I'll just take the stuff and come back with your car in the morning."

Adelle looked around the room and nobody seemed to know exactly what to do. For a girl that never meant to cause anybody any trouble, that's all she seemed to bring with her. She wondered if it would be a good idea for her to just leave Tulsa altogether. Not like her parents would send the police after her. They'd already thrown her out and had to know where she would go. She could just leave, start somewhere else and rid everybody of the trouble. She was sixteen, after all, and that was old enough to do almost anything with the amount of money that she had at her disposal.

Sighing and still holding onto Steve, Adelle looked at everybody, then nobody as she looked down to the floor. "I'm sorry," she said softly. She closed her eyes and squeezed Steve's waist tighter. "I'm sorrier than I can say, and Pony does words better than I do but… I just… I'm really, really sorry and I'll do what I can not to cause you anymore trouble."


	10. Chapter 10

**_A/N: As I've mentioned before in response to someone's review, this story is based mainly off the MOVIE not the NOVEL. Therefore, my versions of Sodapop Curtis and Steve Randle are Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise, respectively. As such, Rob Lowe has bright, clear blue eyes and thus, Soda has bright, clear blue eyes. That's the same with the sides of town. In the movie, it's North and South, so in this story, it's North and South. The bit I'm taking from the book is about Two-Bit's occasional attendance to class. _**

She'd never seen eyes quite Sodapop's shade before. It was thoughts of those eyes that helped get Emma through the following school day. The thought of something that was untouched by the whole dirty mess of the day before. His household was a shambles, her life was, if possible, emptier than it had been yesterday, but no matter what, his Sodapop Curtis would still have eyes the color of a clear, blue sky.

She supposed it was just another of those strange things that happened, something that someone had probably tried to explain to her in biology. Somewhere in the geneology on either side of his family, there'd been a person with the prettiest eyes on either side of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Emma was rather glad for that. Because of his excellent genes that gave him crystal eyes and a pretty face, she had a good thought to occupy her mind.

Emma knew it sounded a little bit selfish, and more than a little bit shallow. She had never claimed to be void of either of those descriptions. But, as bad as things had been, she guessed she deserved a little something. Granted, she wasn't the one thrown out of her house or the one forced to bunk with a little brother for the night, but she was plenty affected by it all, herself.

She had drifted through her life for at least a year, probably more, going aimlessly from day to day, having no contact with anyone. However, that had been her own choice. She'd made the decision to emotionally remove herself from their group, deciding to be there only in the flesh. Now, though, they were the ones shunning her, yet it was strange that theirs was completely different than her own detachment.

Emma had been there physically, but emotionally, she was more disconnected from them than she would be a stray dog on the streets. She showed them no like or dislike, no love or hate. They could disappear in front of her eyes and she'd never know it. She stood with them, but looked right through them. She bumped into them in the school hallways but couldn't call near as many by name as could name her.

The Soc circle now, however, talked about her, sneered at her, gave her ugly looks to let her know that there was extreme distaste over her choice. They would leave her to stand alone in a hallway if given the chance, but they wouldn't avert their eyes. They wanted her to know that they were displeased, that they thought her to now be dirty. That she was no better than the Greasers she'd chosen over her own people. How low, thou art, Emma Stratton. How incredibly low.

And then there were her parents. Someone's mother had called her mother, who had told her father, which led to a very long phone call where one thing was expressed clearly and concisely. One thing that she'd known would happen, anyway. "In no way, shape or form are you to bring that trashy girl to our home, Emma. We know that we can't stop you from seeing her, but we can stop you from bringing her home. Where she stays is none of our concern, so long as that place is not our house."

That was the end of that. Emma knew that to be the end of it all before the phone ever rang. She had said as much to Soda as he walked her out to her car. "Soda," she'd said, "I know they're going to tell me that she can't come live with me. We have the room, but my parents don't have the heart. And then I look here, at Darry, and he doesn't have the room, but he has the heart. It's all really messed up."

He couldn't argue. "Darry's got more heart than anybody I know. And don't discount your heart, Emma. You've got a pretty big one." He winked at her and it seemed that his eyes were somehow even brighter. "For a Soc, that is."

She didn't tell him that she wasn't sure she could be considered a Soc, anymore. She just got in Adelle's car and drove it home, where she crammed as much of Adelle's things into her room and various empty rooms as possible. Being Soc… At one time, she thought it was just the money and the side of town she lived on. The South Side Soc. However, looking at things now, she couldn't say that to be sure. With the money, cars, house on the South side… That just made her well-off, well-to-do, and well-kept. Without the circle, without the acceptance of the others, she wasn't a Soc, at all. Neither was she a Greaser just because of marginal acceptance, but she knew for sure that she most definitely was not a Soc.

"Be brighter, lady bug." Emma looked up at the gentle whisper that floated into her ear. Adelle stood beside her, dark hair blowing in the breeze. She moved around to the other side and sat down on the bench. "You've been quiet since we got to school."

"She's always quiet." Steve plopped down beside Adelle. "Not even Soda or Super Dope can get a word outta her."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I am not always quiet, Mr. Randle, I'll have you know." She snorted, then smirked. "I happen to normally talk a mile a minute, but as things have taken quite a change, I thought I'd mix it up and go for quiet for a while."

As soon as she said it, she wished she hadn't. Adelle's eyes dropped to the sandwich that sat in front of her, and Emma sighed. "Adelle…" She shook her head. "Adelle, look up, huh? I didn't mean…"

"It's alright, Emma. I know things are messed up, and I'm sorry about that. Really, sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I just…"

"You just nothing. If some people don't see that you're happy and that it's a good thing, well then… They can just go put their Mustangs and Hot Rods right where the sun don't shine." She smiled brightly, forcing her lips to widen and mentally telling her eyes to sparkle. "Let's talk about good things, huh? Let's talk about… Let's talk about Steve actually making it to school today, because that, my friend, is definitely news to be shared and laughed over."

Adelle looked up, gave a small smile, and it was as close to real as Emma was going to get. When she'd come back to the Curtis house that morning, Adelle had already been up and trying to convince Ponyboy that yes, it was okay to close the bathroom door. She'd been trying to laugh, but that sparkle was missing in her eyes. Even when she looked at Steve, the lightness wasn't there. She hadn't looked at him like he was bad or that he deserved the blame for her situation, but neither had she held the same look she had just days before. She was tainted just enough by everything to darken her, but not enough for her to sink as low as she possibly could.

"Steve only came to school 'cause he was at the house this morning and Darry made him go. Darry said he didn't have an excuse about not being able to get there, and there was no way that Steve wasn't gonna finish school. Now, the real thing to do is get Two-Bit to show up because he can't possibly ever graduate the way he's going."

"Two-Bit ain't never gon' graduate," Steve said with a laugh. He snatched up the sandwich that Adelle would rather poke than eat, and took a bite. Talking around a full mouth, he said, "Two-Bit don't care, neither. If he ain't gonna go to school, he should get a job. How I always end up givin' him money, I don't know. Him and Dally, always wantin' money, and to think I gotta look forward to Dally actually comin' back."

Both girls perked up and stared at Steve. Emma had heard enough about Dallas Winston to know that he was more trouble than anyone else that had befriended the Curtis boys. He was wild and crazy, and it had only been sheer luck that kept him alive the night that Johnny had given over to his injuries. Sheer luck that Darry and the guys had gotten to him first and hid him away. Sheer luck that they'd snuck him off back to New York until everything had called down. And now, she didn't know if the sheer luck were good or bad that he was coming back.

"Dally's coming back?" Emma shook her head. She wasn't exactly sure why she was so nervous over the return of someone she'd never even met, though she thought that could have possibly been the reason. She was just starting to get used to everyone else, and that was most likely because she would have to be if she planned to keep a hold on the only friend she had left. But, someone new… She was sure to lose the ease that she'd just started to gain. "When's he coming back?"

Steve shrugged. "Couple o' weeks? That's what Ponyboy said. He got a letter from him the other day." He shrugged again and swallowed. "No major thing. It's just Dally."

"Yeah, Emma, it's just Dally." Emma could tell that Adelle was trying to be light about it, but at the same time, felt the same apprehension that she did. There was no telling how Dallas Winston would react to the way things had changed. A girl in the Curtis house? A Soc girl at that… It was something different, alright. "And since he's not going to be here for weeks, we can talk about what's going to be here tonight. Steve and I are going to the drive-in and I remember you saying that you would let Soda take you, too. So… are you two going with us?"

"I… I don't know." Emma sat up straight and stared at her. "I mean, I suppose it wouldn't be so bad, and I did say I would, but… I don't know that Soda actually wants to go. Maybe he just says he does knowing that I'll say no and…"

"And nothin'." Steve grunted. "I know Soda, and he wants you to go. So you're goin'. And we'll take one car so's nobody can beg off. Everybody needs a good time." He leaned over and kissed Adelle's cheek, leaving bread crumbs on her cheek. Adelle squealed and Steve laughed. "What?"

"There's bread on my face!" She giggled as she wiped the crumbs away, then looked at Steve. "You're clean, but getting dirty again."

"You like me dirty," he said with a wink. "A little game you play with Dirty Steve. It's fun. You know it."

"Uh uh."

"Uh huh."

He started to tickle her, and Emma was glad to hear the laughter. She was less glad, however, when Cherry, Randy, and a few others passed their table, all giving them evil glares and smirks. They whispered to each other, and Emma knew exactly who they were talking about, even if she didn't know what they were saying. They stared at her and Emma stared just past them, to a place far off, a place that didn't exist. To a place that held Sodapop Curtis and his crystalline eyes, because right then, while Steve and Adelle laughed in their own world, oblivious to the people walking past them… Right then, it was that set of eyes that got her through the moment.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Author's Note: I know, this story hasn't been written on in forever, but inspiration goes like that. Anyway, here's a new chapter. I can't promise when the next chapter will be, but apparently, it's not ready to just be retired yet. So, here ya go.

* * *

_**

Soda was staring again. Emma could feel the weight of his azure gaze, even without looking up from the textbook she was attempting to read. Coming to the Curtis house to study was beginning to be a really stupid move. No, she amended silently, it had always been a stupid move. She was just now realizing how stupid it was.

There hadn't been one moment when trips to the North Side were a good idea, but they'd been easier to take. For one, and probably the biggest thing, she wasn't driving herself back then. She could make an excuse that she was being dragged over there, or she was just being a good friend. She couldn't possibly let Adelle go over there all by herself, so she had to chaperone. She wasn't going there for her own reasons. She was there because of someone else.

Now, she really was there just for herself. Emma didn't exactly want to believe what was quickly becoming truth, but Adelle Landry's room rental at the Curtis house wasn't the real reason she kept going back there. Or, at least, it wasn't the only reason. Sure, she had to be there for Adelle. The girl was slowly getting past her hidden despair, but she still needed a friend around. Hell, she needed a girl around because she damn sure wasn't getting any of those hanging around that crowd of thugs. But still…

Emma knew that she was there because she wanted to see Soda. And though she would never admit it, she wanted him to stare at her. He'd managed to get his date to the drive-in, but that was it. She even made sure that he knew they were not going to do any dirty things in the lot. She was going to see if she could actually handle the pressure of being seen in public beside a greaser. The experience hadn't been as bad as she had thought it would be, but it hadn't been fun, either. And the fight had been completely unnecessary. But still…

Emma shook her head, then whipped around to glare at Soda. "Stop it," she said harshly. "I hate it when you do that."

"Liar."

She glared at him and turned back around. So what if she were lying. He didn't have to say it so bluntly, or with a grin curving his lips. If Steve weren't actually trying to graduate, or at least pretending to do so that night, Soda wouldn't have had to be there, anyway. If he and Steve were both without anything to do, Darry would have told them to go somewhere and leave them alone. As it were, he'd already told Soda to find something to do or go to his room. Apparently, the something to do that Soda had found was to stare at Emma.

The whole situation was seriously screwed, anyway. Emma spent half the time flirting with him and the other half trying to pretend that he didn't exist. She sat on a fine line between wanting and having, and she didn't know if she wanted to cross all the way over. Mostly because she knew as well as her parents did that it would come to an end eventually.

Sure, she had another two years before she graduated, but a lot could happen in that time. She could actually get attached to Soda, and that would just make what could only be called an inevitable break up all the more hard. She wouldn't admit it to her parents, but Emma knew they were right. She was getting the hell out of Tulsa, Oklahoma eventually, and more than likely, she wouldn't be coming back. Which meant that she would never see Sodapop Curtis again. Somewhere down the line, if she ever were forced to return, she would see him with whatever woman he'd decided to marry (probably that whore, Sandy) and he'd still be working at the DX. And she would just be biding her time before she was, once again, the hell out of Tulsa.

If she just stuck with a casual flirtation, the whole thing would be easier to deal with. If she didn't stick with it, if she let it go any further than that, either her plans would be screwed all to hell, or she'd still do them, but it would weigh on her and break her down emotionally. It was either leave Soda somewhat friendly, or leave him the way that she knew Adelle would eventually be leaving Steve.

That was almost sad to think about, and Adelle refused to talk about it at all. As far as she were concerned, she had two whole years before that happened, so there was no point in thinking about it. But, Emma knew that the Adelle/Steve story would pretty much end the way her own fated story would end with Soda. When she graduated, Adelle would leave Tulsa, probably going to the same college that Emma chose. Adelle had no reason to stay there. She had no family left, and she had a future in front of her. Sure, she'd probably promise to write. Emma probably would, too, but really… Did anyone expect them to really do that for long once they were gone? Once they were in a group that was more middle ground? Were they really expected to remember Greasers versus Socs when they were somewhere that didn't have those characterizations?

Emma felt like shit for thinking about it, but it was all the truth. She held onto the truth tighter than a glass of ice cold lemonade on a hot summer day. The truth was all there was left in her topsy-turvy world. The truth was brutal and ugly and sometimes, downright despicable, but it was still the truth. And the truth of the matter was that she knew that whatever was going on with them now wouldn't last forever. They were in high school, for crying out loud. Nothing from high school stayed forever. And Emma thought that she knew just how well aware of that Adelle was, too.

When next her head rose, it wasn't because of Soda's staring, but because Steve had stood up from the table, bumping it to the side and making her pen jump. "What…" Emma looked around in confusion, only to meet Adelle's equally confused eyes. They both turned to look at Ponyboy, and he just shrugged. "Don't you know what's going on?"

"I never know what's going on until it's already went on."

"Yeah, that made a bunch of sense." Emma rolled her eyes, then turned to stare behind them. Soda, Steve, Two-Bit and Darry were in a half-circle, almost a huddle without the bending over part. They were whispering, which made Emma all the more curious, and more than a little nervous. There was a lot that went on in the Curtis house, but whispering wasn't one of those things. Yelling, yes. Fighting, of course. Even some muttering. But whispering… That was rude, and Darry didn't seem the type to let too much offense like that go on.

And yet, there he was, right in the middle of it. He didn't seem to care that there were three other people there that didn't have a clue what was happening, two of which who were staring at them, boring holes into their sides. Ponyboy didn't seem to care all that much. At least not enough to stare. He probably figured that, whatever it was, Soda would tell him later.

Groaning, Emma turned back to Ponyboy and said, "Go find out what's going on." He looked up at her with wide eyes. "What? It's your house, your brothers, all that. Go find out what's going on."

"I don't wanna know what's going on."

"But, we do," she told him, "and besides, it's rude to whisper. And… whatever it is, it took Steve away from the only studying he's done all term long."

"That's right!" Adelle's first words in over half an hour. She would probably claim that she had been engrossed in A Tale of Two Cities, but honestly, she was more engrossed in watching Steve. In particular, the patch of grease that clung to the side of his face. She was probably itching to clean it off. The girl was going way past cute and very far into insane when it came to cleanliness. "Steve's gotta get back over here, so go find out what it is so we can get back to studying."

Ponyboy stood up, muttering that he was getting bossed around in his own house and how much crap it was having girls there all the time. Emma and Adelle watched him go, neither all that interested in the muttering. They'd make it up to Ponyboy later. It was something they were used to doing. You can take a girl out of the South side, but it's going to be hard as hell to take all of the South side out of the girl. Sometimes, Adelle and Emma just wanted to get things right then, and considering that they still had the means, they saw no reason that they couldn't have whatever it had been. It usually seemed to somehow involve Ponyboy and they always made it up to him. This time would be no different. But at the moment, there were other things to worry about.

"What do you think they're whispering about?" Adelle asked. "I looked up when Steve got up, and Soda was waving him over."

"Well, I don't think it's about us. Soda would be looking over here every two seconds if it were, and this has to be the first time all night that he hasn't looked at me at all."

"And are ya jealous?" Adelle winked at her. "You complain, but you know you like it when he looks at you."

"Yeah, well…" She shrugged. "Just don't tell him that." Emma let out a heavy sigh and leaned her chin against the back of her chair. "Don't tell him anything, because that's just going to make things complicated, and I have enough complication without the addition of Sodapop."

"Ooh, you called him Sodapop." Adelle winked again. "And, if you'll remember, I'm the one with the complications, not you. Soda's… He's a good guy, and you know it. You went out with him, and except for the fight, you had a good time. So, just stop it and have a little fun. You deserve it, for putting up with me."

Emma turned around and her mouth was open to hand out a long-winded retort about Soda, complication, what she deserved, and why. However, she was stopped as a shadow moved past her. She looked to the side and watched Ponyboy as he moved back around the table and sat down. He didn't say anything, just looked down at his book.

Emma tapped her foot impatiently. Then she wrapped her nails against the table. Adelle met her rhythm, and they both tried to annoy some information out of him. When it was evident that he wasn't talking on his own, Emma said, "Well?"

"Huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "Boys," she muttered. Emma shook her head and groaned. "Well… what were they whispering about?"

"Oh that." He shrugged. "Nothing major. Dally's coming back to town this weekend. Now, stop botherin' me, alright? I got homework to do, and so do you."


	12. Chapter 12

Dallas Winston's eyes flickered from Emma to Adelle and back again. His gaze gave Emma a nervous fluttering in her stomach, but thanks to years of Soc upbringing, she was able to meet his obisdian eyes and hold them as long as he would allow. 

That turned out to not be very long as he turned his attention to Soda. "I'd ask if you were pickin' up strays, but she don't look like no stray to me."

"Double negative," Adelle coughed. All eyes turned on her and she just shrugged. "What? I didn't say anything. Got a tickle in my throat."

Emma couldn't understand how she could do that. Joke around as though this weren't a major event. The Curtis boys and their friends were one thing. Most of them talked a tough game, especially freak boy in his Mickey Mouse t-shirts, but deep down, they were good people. They were nice people. Dallas Winston was…

Well, she didn't know what he was, but Emma was pretty sure that he wasn't nice. A guy didn't get into the kind of trouble that he got into and still end up being called nice. Dallas Winston was dirty, and not in the physical sense. As far as appearance went, he was a clean guy. Yeah, he had the prerequisite greasy hair and old clothes, but he was still clean. Everything else…

He was a criminal. He'd been to jail. He'd been on the run from jail. She didn't know for sure, but Emma was almost certain that he'd killed someone before. He just had that look about him, that he'd done something like that. Whether it was cold blood or self-defense, she didn't know, but something like that-- He just seemed to be that way.

And the fact that Adelle could perch there and just act like he was anybody else was just strange. Oh, she was afraid. Emma could see it in her eyes. She just hid it a hell of a lot better than Emma did. Adelle sat there with her back straight, her arm around Steve's shoulders, and only the constant darting of her eyes let it be known that being so close to Dallas was making her nervous.

"Well, I'll be damned." Two-Bit let out a harsh laugh and slapped his leg. "Dally got Miss Priss to shut up! I never thought I'd see it happen!"

"I am not a priss." Leave it to Two-Bit to open Emma's mouth. On a deeper level, she liked the guy. He was fun, and he was a straight shooter. He didn't trust her anymore than she really trusted him, and he wasn't afraid to say it. That was an admirable trait. On the surface, though, he worked on her last nerve and she would have been happy if he choked on the enormous amounts of food that he stuffed into his face. "And I'll have it be known that nobody has ever brought me home. Especially, not Sodapop Curtis."

"Ooh, tough words." Dally rolled his eyes. "Could'a said 'em to me, though, since I'm the one that said it in the first place." He pulled a cigarette from its wedge between his head and his ear and flipped it into his mouth. The cigarette bobbed between his lips as he said, "Definitely not a stray, but it's somethin' he brought home."

"For the last time," Emma said, this time directly to Dally, "nobody brought me home. I am not a girl that one just brings home."

"Ooh, she said one, did ya hear that? Now, I really know she's not a stray." He grunted and rolled his eyes, then blatantly ignored her as he turned to Soda. "Can't believe Darry's lettin' ya bring Soc's home. Didn't we get enough o' them last time around?"

Whatever the response was, Emma didn't hear it. She was too busy seething at his dismissal. Emma was slowly getting used to a lot of things. She had finally come to terms with the truth that there was no way Adelle was going home. Oh, she might eventually move into a hotel, but she'd never be going home again, not after staying with the Curtis boys. Though she'd said from the beginning, told everyone there was no going back, she'd held out a little bit of hope that things would be different. She had held out more hope than Adelle. But now, that hope was gone and replaced with resignation and adjustment.

Emma had also grown accustomed to Two-Bit's wise remarks. That was a part of his personality. He was the kind of guy that said what was on his mind, but unlike Dallas Winston, his mind didn't go to the complete and utter disrespectful. Of course, that was probably because, most of the time, he was just joking. As much as she'd gotten used to Two-Bit, he had gotten used to her. It was a give and take sort of thing that both had grown quite comfortable living with.

Even the daily drive, alone, out of the North side of town and the disappointed sigh of her parents (when they were around) as she returned home had become just another day in the life. Emma may not have been living with the greasers, but she spent enough time with them to be a social pariah at school. She was also still too Soc in her mannerisms and bank account to ever be considered a greaser. Emma was in the middle, that high school hell that was always just around the corner. In a way, though, hell wasn't too bad. She rather enjoyed being in the middle. Only the people she cared about talked to her, and everyone else pretended that she didn't exist. For the time being, she could handle that.

What she could not handle, though, was Dallas Winston. Neither did she think she would ever grow accustomed to his attitude. He would always grate on her nerves. She didn't care how cool he was, or how attractive he may have been. He was an asshole, and her dislike of his dismissal was enough to push the fear aside just long enough for her to realize that he was an asshole. At least focusing on his abrasive and all together boorish behavior, she could speak, as opposed to being a mute idiot, waiting for him to pull a gun or something.

"Excuse me, but I don't need Soda, Steve, or anybody else to defend me." Emma sat up straight and folded her arms across her stomach. She would have preferred Dally to be sitting, if for no other reason than that she hated actually looking up at him from so low. Sure, he was taller than her, but with him seated, they would at least be on equal footing. As it were, there was way too much Dally could do to her when he was in the power position. "If you have anything to say about me, then you can say it to me directly."

"Girl, weren't you listening? We stopped talkin' about you already. We're talkin' about this one, now." He pointed his cigarette towards Adelle, then put it back between his lips. After a long pull and an even longer exhale of smoke, he said, "Unless I'm supposed to say that to your face, too."

"Actually, yes, you can. I would very much prefer that you didn't speak to Adelle at all. She's too decent of a girl to have your words on her."

"Oh, little words in big Soc sentences. I think my head might hurt." Dally rolled his eyes. "The girl can't be that decent if she's messin' around with this bunch, baby."

"Don't call me baby," Emma said with a glare, "and you have no idea what a decent girl looks like. I'd imagine that there aren't too many decent girls that come to visiting day in prison."

Dally looked at her hard for a second. Long enough that, as his eyes narrowed and he dropped his cigarette in his cup, the fear came back full force and slapped her right in the forehead. Then, suddenly, he burst into laughter. Emma forcibly stopped herself from jumping, knowing that would only make things worse.

Instead, she slapped both palms down on her thighs and said, "What, pray tell, is so funny?"

"You," Dally said bluntly. "Ya know, I like you. Not rude like the redheaded one. Just tough. Or at least tryin' to be tough, which is more than I can say for most of your kind."

"My kind?"

"You know what I'm talkin' about." He looked down into his cup, as though he were upset that he'd put out the cigarette early. He groaned and turned his head. "Pony, you got smokes?" Ponyboy handed him a crushed pack of cigarettes from his pocket and Dally took one. He stuck it between his lips, then cupped his hand around the lighter to spark the tip. He shoved the lighter in his pocket, took a moment to enjoy his first puff of smoke from a new cigarette, then removed the stick from his mouth and let his arms drop.

"Ya know," he said, pointing at her with his cigarette, "you might be alright, after all. Figure if this one's actually livin' here," he jerked his head towards Adelle, "then she can't be too bad. But you… You're a mystery. Like the stick's only halfway outta your ass. Give it time, though. It'll come out all the way for a while before goin' back up. 'Til then, though, might be kinda cool. Yeah, I think I might like you."

Emma stared at him in disbelief, and with a little bit of uncertainty. She didn't know that she was too keen on the idea of Dallas Winston liking anything about her. She rather enjoyed her life in the middle, and she didn't want to get sucked all the way down into the depths by him. And more than that, it just didn't feel too safe to actually be liked by this guy. That could only cause trouble, and Emma had quite enough of that in her life.

No, she wasn't keen at all on the idea of Dallas Winston liking her, and one look over her shoulder and the feel of fingers against her back told her that Soda didn't really care for it, either.


	13. Chapter 13

"Darry won't let me move out."

Emma blinked and shook her head. "What?"

"Darry won't let me move out." Adelle tapped her fingers against the table, her nails thrumming against the wood. Lunch was just starting, and though they both had the full period to waste, it would move by fast. Weird, how it seemed that class went on forever and ever, but lunch seemed to be fifteen minutes long, sometimes less.

"I wasn't planning to stay there forever, ya know." She opened a milk carton, then stared inside. "Just long enough for me to figure out what I was doing. But, Darry said I was too young to be living on my own, so he's not letting me move out. I either have to go back home, or I gotta stay there."

"Is that so bad? I mean, do you really wanna live on your own?"

"I guess not. Bills and all that responsibility." She shook her head. "That's a lot for a sixteen year old, ya know." Adelle shrugged. "But, it's beyond me not wanting to be a nuisance now, and it has entered the territory of really, really weird."

Emma cocked an eyebrow. "Weird?"

"Well… it's me and three guys. Five if you add in the fact that Two-Bit and Steve act like they practically live there. And Soda… you'd love this. Soda's got this thing about walking around the house naked or almost there. And they don't close the bathroom door, either. I don't know how many times I've walked in on Soda or Pony because Darry's the only one that it has occurred to that the door should be locked."

"If it were that much of a screwed up thing, though, Darry wouldn't be making you stay. I'm sure it's something you'll get used to."

Adelle pursed her lips. "You're playing devil's advocate. You don't play devil's advocate, Emma, you play my advocate. Which means you're only partially paying attention, and that means that you're off in dream land. And who are you going dreamy over? Could it be—Soda? No, you don't go this grade of dreamy over Soda, anymore."

"Could you please, stop? And what do you mean, this grade of dreamy?"

"You're too serious. When I walked up, you were thinking about something, and when you're thinking about Soda, your eyes go far away. It's like you're in some kind of dream land, and you're usually kind of upset when you're snapped out of it. This time, though, you look almost glad that I got you out of it. So, you can't have been gone over Soda."

"I'll have you know that I'm never dreamy—" Emma stopped and pursed her lips. "Okay, so sometimes, I go dreamy over Soda." Adelle laughed, and it was infectious enough that a small giggle came from Emma's lips. She covered her mouth, brought herself to control, then said, "Honestly, can you blame me? His eyes alone are to die for. And he's got a cuteness to him. Not like, physically cute, because that's stating the obvious. I mean… something about him when we're alone. He's nothing like Dallas Winston, that's for sure."

"And, at least, we come around to the real thing that has you not paying attention to people who walk up on you." Adelle grinned and twisted a raven strand over one slender finger. "Dallas Winston is on your brain."

"How could he not be? Ever since I met him, all I can think about his how much I hate him. He's so cocky and sure of himself, as if I want anything at all to do with him. As though I really care if he likes me or not. I don't, by the way. I don't care if he likes me or hates me."

"Soda would rather he hate you."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"There's that what again." Adelle rolled her eyes. "You should really come up with a new phrase for shock. What is becoming very painful to the ears."

"Adelle…" Emma groaned. "Come on, Adelle, I'm not in the mood for games. What did Soda tell you."

"Tell me? Well, he told me nothing. However, I did overhear him talking to Steve this morning before they left for work. Of course, I was trying to get Steve to come to school instead of going to work, but he said he had to go to work. And, since he was ditching, that gave Two-Bit an excuse to ditch. So, now—"

"Now," Emma interrupted her, "you can tell me what you actually overheard."

Adelle narrowed her eyes, but the minor itch of anger at being called on her rambling didn't last long. Adelle knew that she tended to ramble. She was only glad that most of the time, Emma put up with it. And that Steve thought it was cute enough to cackle on and on about. Okay, so the incessant cackling wasn't the best thing, but he didn't yell at her to shut up, either.

"Adelle?"

"Huh?"

"Okay, so now who's lost in a land that's not here?"

"Fine." Adelle sighed. "Well, Soda was telling Steve… Okay, so I'm not going exact word for word here, because I can't remember exactly how he put it. The basic idea, however, was that Dally went after what he wanted full speed, and if he decided he liked you, he might decide he wanted to play with you. And, while they're all friends and such, Soda has no desire to share, especially with Dally. So, I take that to mean—"

"That Soda would rather Dallas hate me than to like me."

"Exactly. Sounds like Soda has decided that he wants you all to himself. Are you going to finally admit that you just might be Sodapop Curtis's girlfriend?"

"I am not his girlfriend."

"Then, what are you, Emma?"

"I'm… Well… I don't really know what I am."

"Trust me," Adelle told her, "you're his girlfriend. If he's worried that someone else might take an interest in you, then he's your boyfriend."

"I don't know about all that."

"Trust me, Emma. I know these things." Adelle giggled. "Okay, I think I know these things, but the end result is the same, and I believe that it could be a good thing. For the time being, at least."

"And how, exactly, have you come to this conclusion?"

"Well, it makes it easier on you, the amount of time you spend at his house. You have your own reasons now, and it's not just because I'm there. That's a good thing, right?"

"I suppose."

"Well, that's good enough. Now, let's finish lunch before the bell rings and we're back to the torturous torment of high school." Adelle sighed and her shoulders sagged. "And forget about Dally, Emma. As long as you've got Soda, then Dally's not worth the frown lines you're giving yourself thinking about him."

"But… I really don't like him, Adelle."

"That's a good thing. It would only be bad if you did like him. That would be very bad, indeed."


End file.
